Thus almost HALF of the 24,199 pages of e-mails contain the name “Sharon Leighow”. Considering the fact that many e-mails are more than one page long, we can easily conclude that half or more of the e-mails produced contain the name of the person producing the e-mails. A small sampling of the 12,000 e-mails that contain the name “Sharon Leighow” demonstrate the extent of the involvement of Ms. Leighow in the Palin administration:

2. In September 2007, Kristan Cole, Palin’s good friend and chairwoman of the creamery’s board, submitted an op-ed piece. Deputy press secretary Sharon Leighow sent around an e-mail: “Folks – This is our final draft of the Mat Maid Op/Ed to be submitted on behalf of Kristan Cole. Thoughts?”

3. Palin’s staff was setting up an interview on natural gas issues with Energy TV from Canada. Here’s how the interview was set up: Her aide, Sharon Leighow, asked the questions, and the answers were posted on a teleprompter for Palin to read. Then the fake interview was uploaded by satellite…

4. E-mails demonstrate that Sharon Leighow was intimately involved in the “strategy” involved for presenting the story about Palin’s alleged pregnancy. On March 4th at 11:29 am Leighow sent Palin & T. Palin an e-mail :

The text of this e-mail was redacted.It appears that Ms.Leighow asserted that the “strategy” was privileged. In three years of law school I never learned about a “pregnancy strategy” privilege. Maybe that’s a law unique to Alaska.

5. On March 5th Palin send Sharon Leighow this e-mail:

From: gov.sarah@yahoo.com

Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 10:02 AM

To: Leighow; Sharon W (GOV)

Subject : Re: Does Beth know?

No. Should we tell her about the baby bump? If you want to, go forth. If not, that’s fine.

Sent from my BlackBerry® device from Cellular One

—–Original Message—–

From: “Leighow, Sharon W (GOV)” <sharon.leighow@alaska.gov>

Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:52:22

To:Sarah Palin <gov.saraheyahoo.com>

Subject: Does Beth know?

Sharon Leighow

Deputy Press Secretary

Deputy Communications Director

(907) 269-7450Anchorage

6. On June 16, 2008, Palin sent Sharon Leighow an e-mail, regarding Track’s rank in the service. That was information about her son that someone did not redact or withhold.

7. Palin sent Leighow e-mails that were redacted alleging that the material contained in the e-mail was “privileged or Personal”. However they were sent during the normal work day, on the Governor’s state business e-mail account, to Sharon Leighow, a State employee. One example would be the e-mail sent on July 7, 2008 at 3:42 pm, with a subject line of “please approve”. Do you think this was sent from Bristol Bay where the Palin’s fish every summer, and during the time that Sarah didn’t hold a crew member license?

8. Multiple e-mails were redacted between Palin and Leighow with the notation “Privileged or Personal Material Redacted” that contained a reference to the Troogergate matter. If these were “personal” in nature then they would tend to support the finding of the bipartisan legislative committee that Palin acted unethically, and should have been produced in that matter.

Alaska is supposed to respond to document requests within ten days, but they can ask for extensions, and the state did so repeatedly when it came to the Palin emails.

We waited for almost three years for these e-mails only to discover that:

(3) An entire month of e-mails, from December 6, 2006 to December 30, 2006, have not been produced and there is a complete absence of any explanation or acknowledgement of the missing e-mails.

(4) The state has said it has not finished reviewing the emails from late 2008 through the summer of 2009, when she abruptly resigned. It remains unclear when those emails will be released.

(5)Sean Parnell never made the e-mails available in electronic form, which would have made the production much easier and more accessible to the average person. By delaying the production for over two years, and producing only a limited portion of the e-mails, and doing it in a costly paper form, Governor Parnell has demonstrated his “contempt” for the public records law.

“Ready availability of public records should be a matter of course….The administration’s foot-dragging naturally raises suspicions about why — and about the reasons for some of the redactions and withheld emails. After their performance so far, there is no reason to trust the redaction and withholding judgment of an office full of holdovers from the Palin administration….the attitude of the administration (Sean Parnell’s) toward public records law and the rights of Alaskans has eroded public trust. And that’s of permanent interest.”

It seems that a trend is emerging. The Governor of Alaska, Sean Parnell, Sharon Leighow, and other employees of the state of Alaska appear to feel no sense of accountability to the citizens of Alaska, or to the laws of the state. I am not a citizen of Alaska. I live far away. But even a resident of the State of Texas is offended by the obvious corruption and blind allegiance to Sarah Palin. Without respect for the law we are no better than countries that we condemn like Iraq and Afghanistan that are evil and corrupt. When Transparency International released its annual list of the most and least corrupt countries in the world — the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the United States received a score of 7.1 ,( ranked from 0 to 10, 0 being the most corrupt, 10 being the least). It appears that Sarah Palin, Sean Parnell, and Sharon Leighow have done their part to maintain our ranking far below 10.

Excellent post, Malia. I wish Huffington Post would publish this on their front page, because everything you wrote is simply the truth, the objective truth. When you see it put before you in such a simple, straightforward manner, as you have done here, it’s astonishing that the media is not getting more aggressive in seeking answers, especially in Alaska. Thank you for writing this.

zsa zsa huffington would never publish anything truthful about palin. palin is one of her main sources of income because of sarah’s clickability. huffington swings further right by the day. soon we’ll see ms huffington return to her true political self. she’s banking on the president being a one term president and helps by continuously writing disparaging articles about him. then she can return to her former rabid right winger self and feed off her fellow nut jobs and continue to grow her personal fortune.

I still believe they won’t produce electronic copies because they’ve been messing with the times some were written. A paper copy reveals nothing. And electronic one might well demonstrate they spent the last three years doin a little housecleanin

Great post, Malia! With less than a million inhabitants, large land mass and distance from the lower 48, and with the incestuous relationship between politicians and business interests, Alaska will forever be corrupt, I’m afraid.

I wonder if Andree will write/apply to Court for an extension of the time limitation in that the State has not even started to process the emails of the last 10 months of her term. Add the fact too, that the State taking almost 3 years to produce this last dump, it does not allow for time to dispute the redacted emails. Said time limitation should not start until after the release.

More smells are coming from Alaska and they are not emanating from the “dead fish that go with the flow”(presumably from Todd’s fishing boat). The state level administration is rife with croneyism. What better can we expect from a state with only 700,000 residents, most of whom know each other or are related to each other? This Emailgate is sickening.

Malia – This post just shows (again) that you don’t have to be from Alaska to get the entire gist of the state of corruption that has existed in our state for longer than my lifetime. Your research is spot on. I called Alaska politics “rogue” long before sarah palin thought she was so and claimed that description for herself. Its not even ironic because SHE didn’t get it. She thought it was a lovely adjective when it is a devastating and denigrating noun (in its TRUE meaning). She also didn’t get that she was the NOUN version! (FIRST LISTED meaning from the dictionary: “a dishonest person”)

Our Native tribe have been involved in Alaska politics from our birth due to the ongoing battles for our inherent human rights and sovereignty issues, for starters. When the Native Corporations came into existence in the ’70’s, the S*** hit the fan for us politically in the state and hasn’t ended yet. (A whole other frustrating and maddening story). I always suggest people read Judge Thomas Berger’s book “A Village Journey” to get the main gist of how the Alaska Native Land Claims Act came into existence and how it impacted our lives and the fact that it was only a few hand picked sell-out natives who sold us down the river – notwithstanding all propaganda and here say about ANCSA. Those of us who are still fighting for our FULL rights under ALL known laws for us (and against us) know these true facts. Its a long ongoing angry tale that is far from finished. In spite of the gains we have accomplished. I am one Native (many others as well) who is here to tell you Palin’s whole thrust was ANTI-NATIVE. She is a clear and bonafide racist from her core. We are living proof of how she has attempted to undo the rights we had agonizingly fought for – and whose rights are GUARANTEED by known law. I’ll start with P.L. 95-608 – the FEDERAL law that guarantees our rights to our own children! Just for starters.

I mention these things because, as usual, our stories are always downplayed, if EVEN told – in depth. Alaska politics figured clearly in ANCSA because it was basically about oil and being able to get and keep that oil and its riches – to get it AWAY from and out of the jurisdictions of the Native lands and peoples it was discovered on and who were the real owners. But then, it was always about getting our lands and its resources – here and in the lower 48. I said all this (not even a nano second of info) to corroborate your post on Alaskan corruptions. Its been endemic to this state from beyond Judge James Wickersham, Alaska’s first politician and Judge of note. ( I have a very interesting story about the Wickersham’s if you’re ever interested).

This post is one excellent post and I, as an Alaskan and Alaska Native thank you for its truth and its excellence as you have put it forth. I only could hope that it would be spread everywhere for its enlightenment and TRUE JOURNALISTIC EXCELLENCE.

P.S. I was glad to see how well Geoffrey Dunne researched some of the flagrant issues of our Native people of Alaska in his book. Overall, he did cover Palin’s deceptions regarding our people in Bush Alaska that winter of cold and near starvation. I was very happy that he presented it as he did – showing Palin’s total disregard and her obvious and clear racism. I hope the book is eye-opening for others, for what we already knew and lived as Alaskan’s and Alaska Natives. I really am in anticipation of Joe McGinniss’s book. The anti-palin bloggers have done the job the cowards in mainstream media have not done. Also, the writer’s who have published their books so far. I am almost positive there will be more. Palin will be toast. She’s lower than dirt. Kudo’s to all writers and journalists who have the guts to out this beast called “woman” and “human”.

Malia – I just read her poll numbers are down – again – since that charade “bus tour”. I know those people who need to be reached will never willfully read anything of truth about palin. But that would be true no matter what right? These people appear to be solidly unteachable under any circumstances. I believe if it weren’t for the blogger’s, writer’s and journalists who have come forth (and will continue to come forth), those poll numbers would be higher.

The bloggers and all other writer’s and journalists will not let anyone forget anything! However, my worry is the same as yours. Anything can, does and will happen, but I feel her karma (despite all fools and ignoramus people who support her) is so bad that she will end up being a persona non grata in any kind of life she imagines for herself. How could she be otherwise? At some point in the future, if she is remembered at all, it will be for her badness. The way one remembers Hitler. With loathing and disgust. I believe that. She is not genuine and she never will be. She will be like the rude and unwelcome guest: the one who barges in shouting and hollering – stomping her way through any situation. The one everyone will be embarrassed by. Yeah, I know that sounds like extreme wishful thinking, but her own persona is her downfall – fools, idiots, and the willfully uninformed notwithstanding. Oh yeah. I believe it. Otherwise, the alternative is to believe that the american people are truly lost and stupid beyond repair. I haven’t quite gotten to that point of belief yet. I just believe that the cowards reign at this point and I mean those people who COULD be telling ALL about palin, but aren’t. It goes without saying that american mainstream media is no longer what “media” means and they are the biggest cowards and losers of all for the damage they have caused by not doing their job of “reporting REAL and TRUE news.

deennaa,
I think the “news” reporting has just become all about ratings. I hope you are right about how Palin will be remembered,and I’m doing my part to make sure there is some record for anyone to read who is interested. Malia

“In three years of law school I never learned about a “pregnancy strategy” privilege. Maybe that’s a law unique to Alaska.”

It’s the special Alaska treatment of the “special people”, they manipulate any and all laws for CYA purposes. This has been going on for a long time in AK. They also manipulate them to hurt those they consider enemies. Remember Palin crimes are different than the crimes of others. The regular people get harsh sentences no matter what the circumstances, Palins are either given a free pass or a light sentence.

Celia Harrison,
You are right, and sadly I am just coming to this realization. We can’t accept the situation, so I will continue doing my part, and if everyone stays in touch, we will all work hard to make the rest of America aware of this outrage if she declares her candidacy. Malia

Thanks for another fantastic read. This state’s level of corruption and coverup is amazing. I now understand more fully the strategy Purnell’s office has used to delay and exclude the truly relevant communications. I do hope that Andree keeps fighting the good fight, maybe more citizens of Alaska will step out of the shadows with what they know. For someone who fought so hard for transparency in Government, Sarah certainly doesn’t feel the same rules apply to her, and the people of Alaska deserve better, by extension, the United States and The World.

Mac,
I am just now reading Blind Allegiance, but it certainly seems from Bailey’s perspective that she did transform from a person who fought corruption, to a person who was intimately involved in the corruption. Malia

Well Bailey was only “up close and personal” to palin for basically a short time. Her entire past before him was filled with her brand of corruptions. She was already corrupted before she became mayor of Wasilla. Once she obtained the power seat of governorship, she went full bore ahead with who she already was.

My thoughts on Bailey is that he did not tell all in his book. I wondered about his motives. When I worked with the state of Alaska workers, there was always those (in abundance) who kow-towed to their bosses because their salaries were the highest of most working people anywhere (except for the BP workers on the slope, of which Todd palin was one). There was always the element of CYA on so many levels. I didn’t run in to too many workers who truly idolized their bosses because everyone worked under the knowledge that their bosses were mostly impervious to doing good and doing the right thing. It was always about “appearances”. If you did not go along with “the program”, there was always the firing “without cause” clause to look forward to. There were so few who remained with integrity that ran state offices and that filtered down to the lowest of workers. If you had high ideals and integrity, those would often go by the wayside just so a person could stay in their positions. I saw it happen far too often. Like I said, I often wondered about Bailey’s motivations. Palin, in the beginning, fooled all the Alaskan’s who voted for her but in the end, by her own behavior’s, saw her for what she really was. There is still a minority of people in Alaska who support her – the usual “bots” you will find anywhere in the USA.

deennaa,
Reading Bailey’s book you might get the impression that Sarah actually changed,and she started out as a good person and the system corrupted her. However maybe that was Bailey’s perception, but I don’t think he knew about all the unethical, corrupt,and fiscal irresponsibility that she engaged in in Wasilla. From the hockey center they built on property the city didn’t own and tried to take by eminent domain, to redecorating the mayor’s office it is clear to me that she has been like this from the start and Bailey just didn’t know her then. The book documents how he came to know her and understand who she really was, but there is no evolution of Sarah Palin.

Malia – Yes, there was no such evolution of sarah palin. Ever. The only way I can believe that Bailey couldn’t see what was right before his eyes, is the religion factor that fundamentalist brand of religion that seems to be made up of people who have an extra “herd instinct” gene and cannot/will not accept anything but what they are told. They appear to be blind to all manner of badness – while THEY are in acts of constant hypocrisy, cruelty, phoniness, mean spirited-ness, lying, cheating, stealing, slandering, and blasphemies and just about false everything. I observe that their outstanding trait seems to be an emotional immaturity that does not allow them to rationally be able to judge reality. Its a “drama queen” brand of religion. The adherents never delve deeply beyond the surfaces and are never self-introspective. Its an easy “religion” for them. They wouldn’t choose to really UNDERSTAND what is in that holy book they all hide behind – that book they skewer and interpret God from their own low mentalities. My question for Bailey would be: didn’t sarah’s “blessing” from the witch hunting pastor Muthee from Africa give him ANY pause? Didn’t he know about that? Sarah herself talked about it. She even mocked that pastor’s voice. He didn’t notice ANY of the cracks in her seams? I still don’t believe he followed her totally out of “blind allegiance”. He constantly saw her retributions/vindictiveness/get-even revengeful behaviors and he actually could put up with that with no sense of shame or wrong-doing on his part? I really have a hard time with that being JUST blind allegiance. So, I still have to ask (since he had to write a book about it) – what were ALL of his motivations? He never came across as any typical robotic type of palin follower. He seemed to have a higher intelligence. Like when he phoned Walt Monegan trying to pressure him regarding trooper Wooten. Being her leader of the Boards and Commissions, he HAD to have known he was using unethical tactics and skating on thin legal ice by that pressuring (at sarah’s behest). Especially since she put him (Bailey) on leave and tried to distance herself then deny her involvement. I have a hard time accepting the fact that he went back to shenanigans AFTER that and continued “blindly” to be her hatchet man. Really I do. EVERYONE knew Walt’s ethics and integrity. What is one to conclude? He was doing the usual CYA and calling it blind allegiance? I’m sorry Malia. I just can’t accept that it was TOTALLY blind allegiance that motivated Bailey. I think everyone should get the benefit of the doubt at least, but that question nags me of him KNOWING and obviously having a conscience(unlike sarah), but continuing to burn his own conscience to do the palin’s dirty bidding. He has some really big blind spots then. Or underneath it all he was a zealot. Surely he could have seen that sarah also used that fundamentalist “front” of hers as falsely as she used everything and everyone else. Maybe not. I just have nagging doubts & questions as to his own motivations. Still I am glad that he did write his book because every single word that exposes the lies and corrupted persona of sarah palin is worth its weight in gold. I do believe he did not tell all that he knew and saw. I guess one of my question’s would be how does one who HAS a conscience accept and BLINDLY follow one who does not? It would seem that there would have been a recognition factor very early on. Another question would be did his fundamentalist brand of christianity allow the suspension of conscience to carry out palin’s constant revenge behaviors, let alone the constant lies? Or is it that I cannot accept that he was THAT BLIND for THAT LONG? Being that long behind the scenes – up close and personal…..

(sorry this was so long. A better writer could have said it so much shorter)

deennaa,
I have all these questions too. The even sadder thing to me is the damage done to Bailey’s family, and Sarah obviously didn’t care. We see how she treats her own family, using them, but never spending any time with them unless for a political reason. Can you imagine how many families she has destroyed?

Malia – Absolutely. Totally. She started with her own. Her little “apple” bristol is now falling right under her tree. They are all one big mess. A lot of unsuspecting people will be suffering just because of association with them in the future. That’s my thinking. The best one could hope for is that they all get psychological counseling. I think its very telling that no one hardly hears a peep out of sarah’s and Todd’s family. Except for the ugly father heath. When I think of all those families she has destroyed that you speak of, I am more than ever convinced of her karma and how it is going to bring her down so hard when it comes. She won’t be able to get back up. I believe that firmly. I have seen vindication – for lack of a better word – come, when people DELIBERATELY harm innocent and unsuspecting others. Sometimes it takes awhile. I have also seen it come swiftly. There is a reason sarah is being “allowed” her longer than 15 minutes of fame. In the end of the matter, I believe we who see the REAL creature she is, will be quite happy because she is being allowed time to be exposed in all her futile and false glory. I’m thinking very positively about this. Look back at just the last three years. Most of her undoing comes at her own hand. BUT, since she has stepped over ALL the lines in the sand, something else will be in store for her total undoing. You know. “…just let me plow through that open door…” She has SLAMMED, not “plowed” through all those doors she mistook for being “open”. She took was was NOT offered. What a disobedient little gal!

I meant “What she took was NOT offered”. Tired fingers :-( An afterthought on that I think of every time I see that quote of her request of God to let her “plow through the open door(s) is the emptiness of those words. I don’t think she got it that God closed that VP door and the message was “NO”. The rest of it has just been her blatant disobedience to that NO. She has been under her own direction since. Not God’s. No, I take that part back. She has NEVER been under anyone’s direction EVER. Let alone God.